Parent and Parent-Child Counselling

Parenting is probably the most difficult thing most of us do in our lives. Yet we have very little preparation for it. If we are lucky and we had good parenting as a child, we will have happy memories of how our parents treated us. However, even if we adopt some of the parenting techniques of our parents that we believe will be good for our children, there will be other ways our parents treated us that we shall not choose to be part of the parenting of our own children. Times change and the perfect parent has yet to be parented.

In the not too distant past, extended family and the neighbourhood were resources for parents to draw on. This may still be the case, but in our fast changing society, our families are often spread around the country or even throughout the globe, and often we do not know our communities and the people in them well enough to look to them for help with our parenting. Sometimes parents have to look outside the family and the neighbourhood for help.

Parenting in the context of a separated or blended family, as well as carrying the usual difficulties of parenting, has its own specific challenges. To ensure that children of separated parents have the best chances of realizing their potential, the original parents need to work cooperatively for the sake of the children, together with the new parents in circumstances that carry the weight and complications of history. Some of the notes on this website (e.g., Red Light, Green Light; Family of Origin Explorations; Parenting after Parental Conflict, Separation and Divorce) may help you to think about parenting, and give you a new perspective from which to consider parenting.

If you are experiencing struggles in parenting that, no matter what you attempt, are not getting resolved, or at least getting easier, you and your family may find it helpful to meet a family therapist, a mental health professional who has specific training and experience in approaches to parenting, parent-child relationships, and family dynamics.